"So...I think you're a separatist," my boyfriend said to me as he adjusts his tie in the bathroom mirror.
We're in a Cincinnati hotel, preparing for his brother's graduation, and my first instinct is to deny. As a person fighting for equality, how can I possibly be a separatist?
"You don't think I'm mixed," he said. "I'm Mexican-American. My parents and grandparents are from Mexico. We are the original mixed people, but you won't write about that."
He's right. The Latino/a culture stemmed from a mashing of peoples before and after the Americas were first "born." The natives mixed with the slaves and the Europeans. They mixed religions and beliefs to form something original and identifying. The same with the Spanish language.
Still, they are not who I think of when I think mixed. I think of first-generation or second-generation mixed peoples that do not have a common tie or identifier like nationality, religious beliefs, or language. I think of people who are the pioneers of their family tree, not one that is established.
But I do not know their culture well. I don't know if they have mixed-race issues, and I certainly cannot decide not count them just because of ignorance. (Racialicious explores the "Who is Actually Mixed?" debate better than I do.)
"You're like Malcolm X," he said. "You take up the fight for one group of people and think that is the people."
All humans are mixed. Some are more obvious than others. The more obvious ones tend to be the ones society looks down upon and mistreat. So long as you're not sitting around saying this type of mix ,this much percentage is better then everyone else. how can you be a separatists? If all you seek is understanding ,being treated fairly, and being happy with yourself I see nothing wrong with it.
ReplyDeleteI think he misses a key point.
Trying to define who is mixed is difficult, just as trying to define how many "races" there are in the world.
ReplyDelete